Questlove Talks Jay-Z Advice and the Supergroup with Amy Winehouse That Never Happened

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[AllHipHop News] Many artists who achieve success on the level of fame, money, and chart-topping albums agree that the urge to stray from what brought them to the table can be a challenge.

However, Questlove credits his former Def Jam boss, Jay-Z, for keeping him and his group, The Roots, musically and artistically intact.

“(Jay-Z) didn’t want to be known as the bad guy that killed The Roots,” Questlove told the Associated Press (AP), while highlighting an ironic difference between himself and the man who signed The Roots. “I told Jay, ‘Like man, that would be nice to have all my records debut at No. 1 and stuff.’ But he’s like, ‘Yeah, but you’re just looking at that. I got to deal with beef with this cat and that cat. Every year, some rapper’s going to take a potshot and I got to take the gloves out the closet and start training.’ … [Jay-Z] sees me as an artist making my dream come true. Like, he wants to be seen as a true artist, not the richest guy in Hip-Hop. Meanwhile, I would like 13 zeros in my account.”